6 errors doom Kernels in loss to Clinton

CEDAR RAPIDS - If you were at Veterans Memorial Stadium last night, you probably wondered what the Midwest League record is for errors by one team in a game.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels weren't even close, believe it or not. They would have had to foible their way around the field a lot more than they did in their 2-0 loss to Clinton, and they foibled around plenty.

It's just short of amazing you could make six errors and still have a chance to win.

“Lack of concentration,” said Kernels Manager Brent Del Chiaro. “Just not consistent baseball. Going two games of errorless baseball doesn't mean that you're playing consistently smart baseball. For whatever reason, nobody wants to sit there and put a stop to it. They just want to kind of continue to make countless errors. And on routine plays. It's not like they are tough plays. It was routine plays all night long that hurt us.”

The Kernels (23-24) lost two of three to a team that's a woeful 13-35. Cedar Rapids has dropped an equally woeful 14 of 17.

The error bug bit every member of the Kernels infield last night, shortstop Jesus Campos and third baseman Jeremy Cruz twice. First baseman Brandon Decker booted a routine grounder to begin the game.

This has become a bad pattern for Cedar Rapids, which had five errors each in a pair of losses last weekend at Quad Cities. By the way, Burlington committed 17 errors in a 15-inning game in 1978 for the league record.

“It's a recipe for disaster when you make six errors,” Del Chiaro said. “You don't deserve to win.”

Another bad pattern is the lack of hitting. The Kernels mustered six of them last night to drop their season batting average to .227, tied for last in the MWL with Fort Wayne.

The team's pitching continues to keep it in games but the offense - and defense - has got to help out more than it has. Del Chiaro was asked if he worried about the pitchers getting down on the position players.

“There's no division there,” he said. “For the most part, they're still a team."